The second major tournament on the 2009 tennis calendar is just one month away.
Out of the 128 women scheduled to compete at Roland Garros, who do you think is the best clay court player on the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour? Tell us your opinion in this week’s edition of Open Forum Friday!
The European clay court season swings into full gear next week in Stuttgart followed by the Premier warm-up tournaments in Rome, Madrid and Warsaw.
Has a particular player caught your eye so far during the American clay tournaments? Who is headed into Paris with the most momentum? Leave us a comment below!
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Vera Zvonarëva is the best clay-court player, as she has excellent lateral retrieval-skills, and can turn defence to attack with flairsome power.
It’s a beastly shame that her French Open participation is in doubt due to her ankle-injury ‘:-(
base on skill: sveta kuznetsova
1. Ana Ivanovic…
her shot making capabilities are highlighted by the slow-paced surface of the red clay, though she may not have a great speed the movement on clay, the slow-ness of clay let’s her prepare her shots and gives her a little more time to concentrate ( and recover) on her shots
2. Jelena Jankovic…
she’s the best person to beat you on clay by grinding…now that jelena had found her game on andalucia, jelena returns to be a very big threat on clay because of her retrieving capabilities, she can last on clay than most players just by retrieving near-impossible shots and these may irritate and cause errors for her opponents…and her deadly backhand down the line on clay is an effective weapon to end points…
3. Dinara Safina…
well, dinara’s game is quite similar to ana’s (but ana had more variety), dinara’s game is only effective if she hits the corners and the lines…this capability of her is only done when she had a lot of time preparing and aiming those shots, of which the clay gives her the opportunity to do so…her serve is pretty awesome her too…i think dinara’s trademark point on clay was a big serve and followed by a surprise backhand drop shot and if retrieved followed by a forehand drive on the line…
4. the williams sisters
well, not much of a threat here…but of the two serena is the most feared in clay, the last players to defeat serena in paris are srebotnik, henin and capriati…two of those are former french open champs…while vee had been defeated by karantacheva, vaidisova, jankovic, penetta…only jankovic had won three clay tier 1 titles…serena had her shots to win on clay, but her depreciating movement still is her hindrance for clay, vee had her shots and her movements, but only a confident vee can win most clay matches…but vee is not confident now after her loss to limping serena in miami…
5. other players to watch out:
a. carla suarez navarro – one handed bakchand with loads of top spin… sure threat on clay
b. svetlana kuznetsova – she had all the shots and variety, the serve, the very athletic movement with the splits on clay, she reached the finals once, and had the on the verge of defeating the would-be champs in 2004 and 2005, she had match points on myskina and henin respectively,,,her only problem? herself…she needs to brand herself an over-ahiever
c. elena dementieva – well, elena likes this surface…reaching the finals once and had decent clay court experinece…her only problem? nerves…
d. the new crop….victoria azarenka, caroline wozniacki, and sabine lisicki and aganieszka radwanks….somehow these players need to prove themselves….much like how justine, steffi, chris evert, and monica made the french open their frist slam title and went on to become great champs in their own right
That’s a hard question, considering the state of the players’ games. In terms of clay talent, I’d say Mauresmo and Jankovic (sorry–can’t come up with just one).
there are many stars but there is one player Sabine Lisicki who even though only made her breakthrough has chances and if not now next year for sure. She will grow very strong and stay on top for a long time. I have been following her for the last 4 years.
Jelena Jankovic’s amazing footwork on clay and retrieving skills make her one of the foremost contenders during the clay season. Reigning French Open champion Ana Ivanovic, of course, should not be discounted – she just needs to be patient on court and play her game.
I’m looking forward to teens as well: Victoria Azarenka, Sabine Lisicki, and Caroline Wozniacki.
Justine Henin is the best on Clay, hands down. She’ll be back, watch. But if that happens, my bet is still with Serena.
Hey Aaress. I’m going to go with Ivanovic. I think if she were on form, few could hang with her on the dirt.